﻿ After visiting Glen’s Transmission shop we stopped down the road at Northwest True Value Hardware that had this Big Frying Pan on the wall. Glen told me is was also on the list of items of interest in Roanoke. We planned to stop by and with Glen’s endorsement we were not disappointed.

How could I pass up this opportunity for a Muffler Man in Roanoke, VA. Standing outside Glen’s Transmission & Automotive Repair he dominates the area. We stopped by and had an opportunity to speak with Glen. He loves the Muffler Man and told me it is included in sights to see in Roanoke. He is trying to find a way to have the Muffler Man hold a ‘trannie, that would make his day. Glen was a great sport and it was a pleasure to meet him.

On the way to the Transformer Man we saw the Coffee Pot building and decided to catch it on the way back. It currently serves as an artist studio with many water sculptures in front. We didn’t have time to go inside but it looks like a great place to visit if you have the time. It’s on East Midland Trail in Lexington, Virginia.

I call this a Transformer Man since it is made up of a bunch of car parts. It can be found on Sycamore Ave. in Buena Vista, VA in front of a metal reclaimation facility (aka: junkyard.) I like it a lot since is showed a lot of creativity to construct. This was our first stop in Virginia on our way to South Carolina to view the total eclipse in Columbia, SC. No comment on the politics still displayed 9 months after the election.

On our way to view the eclipse in Columbia, SC we stopped at Freedom Memorial Park in Strasburg, VA to get this Big Cross. I have a couple other crosses, one in Indian River, MI and one in Effingham, IL. This was a triple cross with the tallest measured at 150 feet.

While we were at Poconos Raceway for time trials we got in a little shopping. One vendor had a selection of hats with this attention getting display rack. I borrowed a cap for this image. Notice the Jimmie Johnson shirt I am wearing. Go 48 car!

For Father’s Day, Ben and Nate gave me a visit to the NASCAR Pocono 400 racetrack. Known among race fans as the “Tricky Triangle,” a 2 1/2 mile test of drivers skills. We (Ben, Nate, the Chief Photographer and I) went to the time trials on Saturday before the race. Interesting and much different than watching a Sunday race. Cars in and out of the pits working on set-ups, tires, etc. During one of the breaks we walked around some of the booths and I saw this Big Idaho Potato. (It was first spotted by Olivia, the niece of my Number One Fan, when she was in Idaho – check out the Bird Dog page.)

In need of a sewing machine table Deb and I visited Steve’s Sewing and Vacuum in King of Prussia along Rt. 202. I know there was a Big Vacuum in front of the store and could swear that I had an image that I took when I went by with Andy a number of years ago. But I don’t see it on the site. Need to investigate further. At any rate we came away with this image and a new sewing table.

I have a Turkey Hill Cow already (see below) but it was a traveling cow on a trailer. That is what I expected to find here. Instead I found a much larger version of the cow. Much like the many cows we’ve found elsewhere. The Turkey Hill Experience is an admission charge museum type venue located in Columbia, Pennsylvania just off US-30.

After our trip to York to see a Time 4 Three performance (which Deb gave me as a gift) we took a route home leading through Reading, PA. In Skillington, near Reading I had researched a Big Pretzel. It is located in front of the Tom Sturgis Pretzel Factory on Lancaster Pike. Truly a great pretzel, too bad it was a Sunday and we couldn’t get in the retail store to buy some of these pretzels.

We’ve been past Rhoads Garden a number of times and didn’t stop to grab this Big Chair. Nice chair and I understand Rhoads Garden is a very good garden center. If you are in southeast Pennsylvania stop in. They’re at 570 DeKalb Pike in North Wales.

Here are a couple photos from my banjo playing pal, Bill. On his way to Memphis to get his banjos tuned he spotted these two Big Things in Cross Plains at the Hwy 25 exit. He found a 1929 Gibson in Memphis, his soul mate, for $29,000 but was shot down by Marge.

We moved to the Philadelphia area last June. When exploring the area we found the Philadelphia Premium Outlet Mall just 20 minutes away. Well we had a little time and decided to stop by. Quite a surprise, a nice outlet mall. Best of all, right after getting there and looking at the store directory I spotted this Big Ornament. Had to get this photo.

On the way out of the Arrowhead Lake Community where Ben and Annie purchased their Lake House we stopped by the Community Club House and they gave me a tour. Really nice and lots of room for all the activities available. In the lobby area I had to get this image of the Big Native American.

Ben had told me about this Big Chair previously and when we were on the way back from shopping we stopped by to grab this image. The chair is in front of a farmer’s market on PA940 at the corner with Long Pond Road.

I was up at the Ben and Annie’s “Lake House” when they closed and we made a trip to the Big Box stores in nearby Mt. Pocono to pick up some items for the new property. While leaving we stopped at Gelco Paints since they had this Big Paint Can and Painter out in front. Gelco is on PA 940 and looks like a great place to pick up some Benjamin Moore paint.

We were in New Jersey for Grandparents Day at Nate’s preschool. Actually it was more like Grandparents Hour. Anyway we took Nate out to lunch and then spent the afternoon at Johnson’s Corner Farm in Medford. A great place to spend time with Nate. They have a very nice playground, animal feeding, and hayrides out to pick the crops in season. For us it was apples and pumpkins. On the playground was this big baseball glove with a hole in the palm to throw beanbags through.

We stopped in Friday night at a “pop-up pub” in downtown Lansdale with Andy, Lindsey and Willa. This is Willa’s first Big Thing photo with Grandpa. Both of us were pretty excited (well, maybe one of us was more excited!)

Here’s a Bird Dog sighting from my sister Catherine. She and Dale were in San Antonio and spotted this big beauty. If you look closely you can see Dale standing below the Big Can of Pearl Beer.

We were out and about traveling down Bethlehem Pike when we spotted this Big Midas Hand. I wonder how many there are of these inflatable hands since I already have one from the Midas store on Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis.